Loneliness CAN be Beaten (Modern Sasunaru)
by uchihaMinaka
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha, 17 years old, second year at Konoha Academy, meets someone like him, someone he can open up to. When he finally decides that being with him is the right thing to do, he begins to question his decision.
1. Scars

Chapter 1 ~Scars~

Sasuke POV

I waded through the hallways filled with students. I made my way outside where I sat alone instead of eating. I took out my textbook and notes and reviewed for the next exam. It went suddenly silent as the blonde slowly passed everyone outside. He was stopped by someone. "Hey you! Blondie. Why don't you wipe of those whiskers on the side of your face!" He laughed and so did the people around him.  
"I can't. They're-" He stuttered.  
"How about I help you!" He said and punch him in the face. The blonde stumbled backwards. I stood up but people crowded around them. I made my way to the front and saw the bully with his hand in a fist, and the blonde boy preparing himself to get hit. I ran forward. His fist hit my open hand.  
"Bullying is not allowed on school grounds, nor is fighting." I said.  
"Move it, Uchiha. Stop being the good guy. You're an emo. You're a loner. You're no better than him. You're good for nothing. Your-"  
"You don't think I haven't been called those things?" His eyes widened. "I guess you're not used to being undermined."  
"Fuck you, Uchiha." He punched me in the face leaving me on the ground. "I'll leave this for today, but the next time, I won't go easy." Everyone left and did what they were previously doing, as if nothing happened.  
"Um... thank you. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." said a small voice from behind me. I wiped the blood that was dribbling from my nose.  
"Sasuke Uchiha." I said. "And no problem." I said. I heard someone run up.  
"Sa-su-ke-kuuuun!" I could know that voice from anywhere, not in a good way. It was annoying Sakura. "That was so cool! How you just stopped him with your hand!" She turned to Naruto. "And I'm happy your safe, Naruto." she said in a calm, soothing tone, as if he was a lamb or baby deer. She walked up to him. "Hey Naruto." She fiddled with her skirt.  
"Huh?" He asked.  
"I was wondering... if maybe you'd like to..." The bell for class rang. "Never mind." She smiled.  
"Okay. Bye Sakura!" She waved and ran off to class. I gathered my stuff and walked through the stuffed halls once again. Class was boring as usual. When school was finally over I went out to the front and waited for the courtyard to clear up before I left. It was around 6 when the courtyard was finally clear. I closed the book I was reading and slipped it into my bag. I walked to the front of the school and headed home, until I saw Naruto. He was waiting alone on a bench.  
"Hey Naruto." I said. He jumped from the sound of my voice and looked up at me.  
"Oh... Hey Sasuke." I guess I wasn't the one he was hoping to see. I looked at his hands and saw there was a note.  
"What's that?" I asked. He looked down.  
"A love letter. Probably fake." He said. I looked behind me at the school mural and saw a group of people, laughing. I glared at them.  
"You gonna head home, now?" I asked.  
"Maybe I'll wait a while longer..." I took the note out of his hand. "Hey!" He said. I walked over to where the people stood.  
"Here's your fucking letter." They stood there, shocked. One person had forgotten to put away their phone. I reached into my pocket for my wallet and grabbed out 12000 ryo and handed it to the girl.  
"What's this for?" She asked, lowering her phone. I took her phone and threw it on the ground and stomped on it.  
"That." I said and walked off. I grabbed Naruto hands and began heading home.  
"Hey! Hey! Where are you taking me?" He said.  
"Do you have anyone at home waiting for you?" I stopped and turned to him.  
"No. I um... live alone." He looked down at the ground.  
"Then you're staying that night. My brother is working late, so it'll be fine." I continued walking toward the train station, where I usually the last train or second to last train into the city, about 2 hours on foot to get to, and 30 minutes on the train. "You can decide if you want to go. I'm going to start heading out so I don't have to walk forever." At first I didn't hear him running after me, but then he did.  
"What about your brother?" He asked.  
"I don't give a shit on his opinion, or about anything he does." I said.  
"Why not?"  
"Because he-" I stopped. Why am I even telling this to him without even thinking? I stayed silent the rest of the way and bought two tickets.  
"I can pay for myself!" He tried pushing forward, but I stopped him.  
"Let's hurry." We reached the train just as the doors were closing. The old man sitting by the door pushed the emergency open door button and the door opened again. "Thanks, Ojii-san." He bowed with his head and we took our seat. I took out my phone and texted my brother, as he told me to do every day; Heading home. Bringing a friend. Not that you'd care_. _I closed it up and placed it in my bag.  
"You never finished what you were saying. Why don't you give a shit about him?" I pulled out my book and began to read. He pulled it down and faced me. "Don't ignore me!" My eyes widened. No one ever did that, they would just go and do something else.  
"Why do you care so much?" He shrugged.  
"I guess I just do." I used my book to cover my face, hiding the blush that just came over my cheeks. "So you gonna tell me or not?" I shrugged.  
"Maybe later."  
"Better late than never." He smiled. I couldn't help it, he was just so cute at that moment, so I rubbed his head. "What was that for?" He asked, blushing. I jumped and grabbed my book, covering my face again.  
"Nothing, dobe." I said. His face remained shocked for a second before smiling. "What's that smile for?"  
"Nothing!" The train stopped 30 minutes later at our stop. I breathed in the city air. "So this is Tokyo! Awesome!" He said, gripping the railing and leaning over to see the cars passing under the bridge. He turned to me. "Why did you decide to go to Konoha Academy and not a school here?"  
"The further away from my brother I am, the better." The city light illuminated the night sky, shadowing the stars from human eyes. "Stay close to me. You can get lost easily here with all the people out at night. And also the gang that walk around, you could get hurt."  
"Okay!" I heard his stomach growl. "Hehe." He scratched the back of his head.  
"You like anything in particular?" I asked.  
"Ramen!" He said in a cheerful tone. I thought for a moment. I've seen a ramen place somewhere, but I forgot where. I walked around looking for it. Suddenly, I felt the feeling of loneliness and found Naruto was no longer behind me, or anywhere near me.  
"Naruto? Naruto!" I called out. I retraced my steps and found him nowhere. I heard my phone ringing. I opened it up and picked up the call. "Hello?" I said, my voice slightly panicked.  
"Sasuke? Is that you?" At first I didn't recognize the voice but then relaxed. It was Naruto. "Where are you!? I told you to stay near me!"  
"When we were going through the huge crowd, I called out for you, but you couldn't hear me. When I was finally out, I couldn't find you, so I started looking for you and now I'm in an alley, because it was quiet, so I could call you." I sighed.  
"Tell me your surroundings." I heard voices in the background appear, showing that he was walking out to look around. "Read the name of the building across the street."  
"I can barely read it. It's a shady place. I think it says... The Hideout?" I gasped.  
"I'll be right there." I ran and pushed my way through crowds and found the Dark Club, The Hideout. I saw the blonde boy being coaxed in by the long haired bouncer. I walked up. "Come on, Naruto." I said, my voice dark, trying not to get the attention of the bouncer. Naruto didn't budge. "Naruto, come on." I grabbed his hand and turned him to face me. His face was grim, bangs covering his eyes, tears flowing down his cheeks.  
"Sasuke, brother! Come on in!" I glared at Itachi, the bouncer, my brother.  
"What did you do to him?" I yelled.  
"All I did was use the power of persuasion to coax him in, like I do with all of our customers." He said in a calm, soothing tone. "You should come in as well, you can drink away all your problems, remove all your scars, but only mental scars. Not the physical ones." He held out his hand. "Come on, brother. You know it's the right thing to do." I hit his hand away.  
"Get the fuck away from us!" I yelled. I took Naruto's hand and ran towards the bright lights, indication the middle of the city. On the outskirts, I found a convenience store. "Stay here, I'll be right back." I didn't want to leave him outside, but I didn't want to drag him with me. I grabbed some instant ramen and drinks. I went to the cashier.  
"Will that be all?" He asked with an unanimated tone. I saw some pocky and took a box placing it in front of him. I paid and he handed me my bag. I saw Naruto sitting on the bench near the store. He was looking down and swinging his feet. He looked so sad, yet so cute.  
"Hey Naruto." I said, catching his attention. He looked up and I placed my hands on the side of his head. I pulled my hands away. "Just kidding!" I said, embarrassed. He smiled up at me.  
"I don't see how that was supposed to cheer me up." He said, sarcastically.  
"Um... you see... like... I was but then I didn't... so yeah." My face was red.  
"Good enough reason." He stood up and we walked to my house.

When we got there, I was exhausted. It was 10 now. "I'll make the ramen." I said. I went in the kitchen and filled the bowls with hot water. When the three minutes are up, we started to eat. "I got some homework to do, so you can watch TV if you want." I handed him the remote and grabbed my bag. He lay down on the couch while I sat at the table in front of him. I started tapping my pencil on the table. My mind wandered back to the scene in front of The Hideout. What was Naruto crying about? What had Itachi told him? I heard the TV turn off.  
"Sasuke."  
"I have to finish my homework, dobe. Can it wait?" I turned to him.  
"Itachi told me stuff that only I should know. How could have found out stuff like that?"  
"I don't know. There's stuff that I never told him, and he knows it."  
"Like your scars?" It seems he was holding that in for a while. "Sorry... I..." I took off my tie and removed my shirt. On my back, arms and stomach were scars. His hands reached out and touch my arms.  
"Five years ago, when I was 12, Itachi raped me." I said quietly.  
"You don't need to force yourself!" He said, surprised.  
"I'm choosing to tell you, otherwise, I wouldn't be, dumbass." I felt his hand trace up my arms and down my chest. He's the only one I've shown my scars, and probably the only one that will ever see my scars. Then he removed his shirt too.  
"Years of bullying." I expected to see maybe bruises or multiple scars, but instead there was only one, running down from his collar bone to the bottom of his ribs. "They wanted to fight me in a dark alley, I was pretty innocent then, didn't know the dangers. Someone from one of the apartment complexes and found me bleeding out. Got me to the hospital right on time. Never fought against anyone since then." The scars on my wrists are from cutting myself, but the others are from the crash, when my parents died. I leaned my head on the couch.

"Some scars never heal." I whispered.


	2. Damaged

I felt Naruto's hand fall on my head. "You tired yet?" I asked, my voice muffled by the couch.  
"No... not really." He said. "Just cold."  
"Then put a fucking shirt on. Don't expect me to warm you." He laughed.  
"Whatever." I turned the TV back on.  
"Scoot over, dobe." I said pushing his feet onto the floor. I sat on the couch and found myself leaning on Naruto. "I'm cold too." I said, my face red of embarrassment. I felt his warm body press against mine. I wrapped my arms around him.  
"Sasuke..."  
"Shut up." I muttered into his back. Soon enough, my body was engulfed in Naruto's heat. After two and a half hours of TV drama, two knocks at the door signaled Itachi's in coming. I quickly released Naruto and dragged him upstairs to my room, both of our shirts in my hand. "Sasuke, I've told you to turn off the TV before you sleep so it doesn't run up the electric bill. I leaned up against the now closed door, catching my breath. I heard Itachi walk past my room and into his, closing his door. I flopped on to my bed and rolled under the covers. Naruto stood in the middle of the room not knowing what to do."Dobe, come to bed. I'm tired. We have school tomorrow." Naruto came into the bed and he curled up against me.  
"Good night Sasuke." He said, smiling.  
"Night, dobe." I muttered.

I woke up finding myself cold. Was it all just a dream? I walked to the bathroom and heard the shower running. I knocked. "Who is it?" said a small voice.  
"Just me." I said.  
"Who the hell is just me?" Naruto said in a mocking tone.  
"Fucking Sasuke. Am I aloud in or not?" I said, more in a flirtatious way rather than irritated.  
"But I'm in the shower."  
"I'll be right out. I'm just going to brush my teeth." I said, leaning against the door.  
"Fine. Fine. Whatever." Just from one day, it felt like we'd been friends forever. I opened the door and closed it quickly. "Hey Sasuke?"  
"Yeah?" He stuck his hand out, calling me over. I sighed and walked over. "What do you need?" He open the shower curtain a little and pulled me in. "What are you doing?" I said, slightly backing away. His arms wrapped around my neck and he pulled me towards him, and began to kiss me. At first I was shocked, but then I began to kiss him back. The shower wasn't that big, maybe fit for two, and the light on the cieling was enough the see around the shower. I pushed him gently towards the wall, being careful not to break the kiss. I placed one of my hands on the wall, with the other wrapped around his waist, holding him close. I bit his bottom lip, causing him to gasp, and I stuck my tongue in his mouth. I felt his hands slid down my back and to my chest. Breaking the kiss, I leaned down into his neck and licked it. His hands found my hair again. After kissing his neck a few times, I started sucking near the collar bone. I small moan left his lips before we heard two loud knocks on the door.  
"I have to get ready for work! Hurry up." Itachi yelled. I ran a hand through my hair.  
"And it was just starting to get good." I said. He laughed.  
"I thought it was always good." I craddled his head in my hands and gave him one last kiss before leaving the shower. I left the bathroom.  
"Why are you're pants all wet? What were two doing in there that got you hard?" He teased.  
"Fuck off." I said before escaping to my room. I heard the shower turn off and Naruto walking through the halls. I finished changing into new clothes and hung my pants over my window to dry. Naruto came in and changed into his clothes. Before leaving the room, I placed my hand on his head. He was just so cute. His hand found mine and we walked down the stairs, hands locked together. I heard a knock on the door.  
"Sasuke-kun. I'm coming in." Sakura walked inside with a container. "I brought breakfast for us and extra's just in case of tomorrow, because I might not be here, I might go to a doctor's appointment." She rambled on as she walked past us, holding hands. "Come on, guys. Let's go eat." She opened the container.  
"Is that omurice!?" Naruto ran over, dragging me.  
"Yeah! I made it myself." Sakura was my neighbor. She brought me and Itachi breakfast every morning since we moved here. At first, the food was bad, like really bad. But then it started to get better, and now, I admit defeat, I love her food.  
"Itadakimasu!" Naruto said and began to dig in. I tentatively took the first bite.  
"This is good." I muttered. "You made enough for to days?"  
"Yeah. Six in all. I was thinking maybe Naruto would stay over again, but maybe not. Did you finish the homework?" I looked over at the coffee table and saw the sheets. I don't remember finishing them. I walked over and saw they were complete. A little note off to the side said,_Finished your homework. By the way, you shouldn't interact with that guy anymore. ~Itachi. _I crumbled up the note and threw it away. I packed up my homework and put it in my bag. I went back to the table and finished eating. Sakura smiled, but I could see the irritation. "So... how long have you two been dating?" She said happily through clenched teeth.  
"I don't know... 3 hours? Four?" I said bluntly. Naruto's face was red and he continued stuffing his face. Stuff like this, I could tell to Sakura. I had known her for four years, and when Itachi was out of the house, I would go to hers and her family would take care of me. I stopped after I got into high school. Her family was my only family.  
"We have to get to school. Let's go." I sighed and finished my food. I grabbed my bag and went to the door. "You're forgetting something, Sasuke." she said as she tossed me my wallet and phone.  
"Thanks." I opened the door for the two, and we headed for the train station.  
"So, Ino called yesterday and," She babbled on while hanging on to me and holding Naruto's hand. I guess she was comfortable to be around but she was just so annoying. Naruto seemed pretty interested in what she was saying, so I walked, looking up at the clouds. Sakura unlatched from me, so I was walking alone. I turned around to face them while walking backwards.  
"Can you two hurry up?" They ran forward, still walking somewhat behind me. I turned around and continued to look at the clouds as I walked.  
"Sasuke!" Sakura screeched. I turned my head and the car hit me. The speeding car I hadn't noticed coming. I felt the impact on my side and I flew a bit before falling. At first, there was no pain.

Naruto POV

"Someone! Call an ambulance!" Sakura screeched at the people staring. She leaned over Sasuke crying. "Sasuke..." she said quietly. "You awake?" All I did was stare in horror, standing on the sidewalk. I slowly walked forward and saw Sasuke bloodied face and sides. The image of my dad flashed in front of my eyes. The way he looked when the car had hit him, was the way Sasuke looked. I turned and ran off, I ran to one of the only places I knew in Tokyo. I found the alley way that I was in, in front of The Hideout. Beside one of the dumpsters, I pulled my knees to my chest. This is my fault. If I had been with Sasuke instead of Sakura, we would've passed safely. We would've seen the car. I covered my face with my hands. Sasuke... please don't be dead. There would be no way I could make friends, no way to love again, if you died. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do it. "Hello young boy." Someone cackled in the alley. I couldn't tell from which end. Someone came closer. "You should come with me. I can help all your troubles. Just take some of these." An old woman came from the shadows and held out some pills. "The first set will be free." She smiled. She only had a few teeth left. I stood up and ran, sliding over and almost falling on my way out. I walked around a bit, trying to find somewhere else.  
"Hey kid! Want a smoke?" A man came up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I got some ladies back at my crib that give good blows, want to come?" I pushed him away.  
"No way!" I yelled and ran off. Suddenly I was cornered.  
"You yelled at our boss? He offered you his good girls." One man with a cloth covering his head.  
"Yeah. Why's ya do that?" slurred a different person.  
"Excuse me, I'm fine. Please leave me be." I said politely.  
"How's sweet. You's think you get through us with politeness?" slurred the guy. I clenched my fists to the side.  
"I have to get to school. Get the fuck out of my way." I said.  
"Look. He's tryin' a be tough." said the guy with the cloth.  
"Hey! Get of the young guy, before I call the cops." Yelled someone from a distance.  
"Itachi! Common'. We gotta get someone in our gang. You should join. I'll give you the girls with the good blows." said the boss.  
"No. Get off of him." Itachi said.  
"You heard the man." The two gang members pushed me forward. "I won't let him go next time if he comes around. He's a sweetheart. We could use one of those for secret pleasure." Itachi pushed me away from the people and towards a street.  
"Why are you, a foreigner who doesn't even know this city, wandering around in those parts? Have you ever watched TV and seen what they do on there?"  
"Yeah but-" I said but he cut me off.  
"They're worse. They'll say stuff to pull you in, but in reality, they get you hooked, they'll kill you even. Why the hell aren't you in school?" He asked. "And how about Sasuke? Where is he?" Just then, a phone call came in. He picked it up. "Hello?" I heard some muffled talking, fast talking and loud too. "I'll be right there." I closed his phone. "I'll drop you off at the school, and then I have to go somewhere." He opened the car for me and I got in.  
When we reached the school, the courtyard was empty. I got out and headed towards the gate. By the time he sped away, I turned back and ran to my house. At lunch, my phone rang. It was a text from Sakura. Where are you? You can't just ditch out on school because of this. Meet you by the front gates?  
I closed my phone, ignoring the text. Then I got another text, from Sasuke. Go to school, dobe.  
I smiled to myself, but remained in my house. After that, I got a series of texts from Sakura.  
Please come.  
Naruto, come to school. He's fine.  
Don't blame it on yourself. You can see him later.  
I don't know what else to say, I'm just asking one thing of you, don't hurt yourself further.


End file.
